His Secret Family

Michael Feifer has done most of the job on the film as both writer, director, producer and so on, and it's not a bad job. The intrigue is intriguing to say the least, a husband with a sick son under age fails to turn up at a crucial meeting with a doctor, and he never turns up, so naturally the wife starts to worry. When the detectives start to think he has abandoned his family they search for reasons for such an act and only manage to upset and alienate her, so she refuses to cooperate and takes the law into her own hands, the very thing the police has warned her against. It's for the audience to judge if she did the right thing and was successful, so this is chiefly a film for worried mothers with children under age, for they would understand her. Neither her husband, the policemen nor her best female friend do that but only do their best to oppose and counteract her, assuring her they only want to help. It's an old efficient pattern of suspense chiefly used in kidnapping films, and you almost expect something like that to happen here. Instead there are other treats of excitement, the greatest being probably the final one, the case of two motor boats, one chasing the other, the other smartly outwitting him by simply being prepared. It's not an ace of a thriller, but the psychology of it is interesting, and any mother's heart would bleed of understanding of a desperate case.

The concept made me think this movie would be fun to watch. Wrong! First off, she discovers hubby leading a double life and chases him down but doesn't confront him immediately!!! If your child is dying you run across the street and grab him on the spot, not stalk him to his home and come up with a blackmail plan. The only person who behaved normally was wife #1. Seriously, the fallout on her side was NEVER explored. She is an absolute hero in this and gets no credit and minimum screen time. They don't have kids meet each other, commiserate, nothing. We also never find out about the woman he may have killed. Did she find him out? Was she wife#3? And the supposed heroine tells her son that Dad will help him. Based on what exactly? The fact that he was going to kill him? The acting was terrible except for wife #1 and hubby. Ugh, and the climactic boat chase. Just so bad.

And have watched it many times. Another of my fav movies with Duff is Til Death Do Us Part. She's a great actress. Very natural.

Except for the actor playing the husband, David O'Donnell, this is pretty much predictable. There are two families with the same husband. One neglected wife, played by Haylee Duff, takes it upon herself to find him and make trouble. She gives a very ineffectual performance and is somewhat boring to watch. The other wife, played by Jennifer Aspen, reacts to the trouble the first wife brings into her home. She gives an honest performance with little to do. The friend, played by Mekenna Meloni. is not too much help. Then there's Parker Stevenson, a reluctant detective, that is just in the movie and doesn't do much. And there you have it. Not very interesting and not well written or acted. Duff is somewhat a bad actress and is trouble from the get go. You want her to lose. She's a dork. Don't waste your time with this trite.

Terrible acting by the lead with a matching script. I started commenting on Facebook as the movie progressed because I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It was the epitome of awful, but not the kind that makes it kitsch. If a dictionary or writer's guide ever wants to define "too stupid to live," they should post a picture of this movie's heroine. Sheesh! And omg, Parker Stevenson has a small part? Oh dear. You know it's time to turn off the TV if you're suffering through this.